


What do you hide?

by TrixiBell15 (MarvelWriter2006)



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: BAMF Steve Rogers, Domestic Avengers, Everyone else is as normal, F/M, He is very powerful, Howard is amazing, Like a combination of Wanda Loki and Dr Strange's magic, M/M, No-one else has wings, No-one else is magic exept those mentioned in previous tag, Steve Has Magic, Steve Has Wings, Steve hides his wings, TV News, The Avengers Are Good Bros, The avengers don't know, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Wings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-09 03:58:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18909085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarvelWriter2006/pseuds/TrixiBell15
Summary: Steve is honest, everyone knows that. So how do you tell when he lies?





	1. Hidden truths

Steve is honest, everyone knows that. So how do you tell when he lies?

 

" Natasha, Bucky, help me clear out the inside. Tony! Take your team to the left, my team go to the right! Kill anyone that escapes!"

Steve commanded as the team charged through the heavy fire, protecting himself and Natasha with his shield. He saw Tony and Rhodey swoop overhead and let out a little whine, missing the feeling of gliding through the air silently, then plummeting down and only stopping to silently tap down on the ground. No-one heard him though. 

Everyone fell quickly into place, awaiting the first of the runners to leg it from the building. It came thick and fast, barely giving any chance to think before the next onslaught came. Inside the building the trio silently took out all the guards that remained before making their way down to the basement, trying to find the kidnapped. The kidnapped, it seemed, were experimented on. They, if that is what they could be called now, weren't human anymore. Most were dead or dying in cages, their backs deformed, bones suddenly too big for their bodies, and beaten. Natasha glanced over to Steve, who sighed and snapped a folder off the table.

**_Subjects 1-14_ **

**_12th March 2019_ **

_All given a dose of the SSS (Super Soldier Serum) drawn from Captain America's DNA. Anything different to normal was put in the serum, there is no way it can fail._

 

**_19th April_ **

_Something is wrong with the serum. I do not understand. All the subjects have been rolling on the floor clutching their back and/or bones._

 

**_29th April_ **

_All subjects exept 7 dead. Backs deformed. Bones affected by serum while the rest of the body not. Why?_

 

**_14th May_ **

_Subject 7 died. A recent discovery shows his DNA being the closest match to Captain America's. The serum was customised. He was chosen to take the serum five years in advance and must have helped make it._

 

**_15th May_ **

_Wings. Subject 7 sprouted tiny cupid-like wings. Captain America has wings._

 

_**19th May**  _

_SHIELD has found us. They will not get past the guards though. We are too strong. Heil Hydra._

 

**_27th May_ **

_The Avengers are here. Tell them what we know. Tell them..._ The sentence wasn't finished.

 

Steve scrunched up the paper in his hand and glared at the writer, who lay on the floor, Natasha's bullet through his head minutes ago. He threw the paper to Natasha and Bucky, who quickly skim read the log before looking over to him.

"Even the mention of my wings does not get out of this room. You saw what happened when people tried to re-create the serum," he said softly, gesturing o the pile of maimed bodies, "what would happen if they tried to re-create my wings?"

Natasha matched his sad stare, "Tell our team, dear. Tell them," she urged but Steve shook his head.

"You saw how Tony was with Ultron. He tries it if it's dangerous. Especially if it's dangerous." Steve countered and Natasha frowned.

"Tell Bruce then," Bucky spoke up from the shadows, "he will keep it quiet and provide medical assistance if needed."

Steve and Natasha nodded slowly, agreeing with Bucky.

"They'll find out though, but let's give them a puzzle. I'm still not used to my wings evolved form." Steve laughed, Natasha opened her mouth to ask 'what evolution' when Steves communication device (com) crackled into action. It was from Tony.

"Hey, guys? Find the kidnapped?" He asked hopefully and Bucky grimaced.

"Well, we found their bodies?" He suggested and Tony sighed.

"Load 'em onto the quinjet body-holder, so Bruce can have a look at what killed 'em. Think we're done here. Any logbooks or anything?" Tony asked the trio glanced at each other before Natasha spoke up.

"Nothing. All destroyed. Get the team back to base and get Banner into the lab. We'll meet him there with the bodies." She said as the trio exchanged a look before striding out, Steve's magic picking up the bodies effortlessly. Least HYDRA didn't discover his magic. Only three, well, two now, other people knew about the magic. Natasha, Bucky and Howard Stark. The same people knew about the wings with the addition of the Howling Commandos. God, they were so amazed by the wings it was unreal! That was an interesting day...

_**Howard Stark's lab January 1942** \- A few months after Captain America has saved the 100's of soldiers including Bucky (I can't remember the name of the place - sorry)_

_"Rogers! Seems like the serums still working then?" Howard abandoned the AI he was working on in favour of hugging his best friend and another friend._

_"Yup! Works perfectly!" Steve laughed as he hugged Howard back._

_"Good, we four spent nearly ten years working on that and I was only possible due to you already being enhanced! Any normal person would've died!" Howard exclaimed causing Bucky to laugh._

_"Stevie wouldn't die even if death dragged him up the path to heaven!" Bucky asked, with a mock glare at his best friend, who chuckled._

_Howard rolled his eyes and smirked,  "Anyway, that's not why I called the pair of you here."_

_Bucky took his head off Steve's shoulder and frowned at Howard, "What did you call us here for then Howie?" he asked._

_Howard groaned at the nickname but smirked, "Have either of you seen Steve's wings since the serum?" he asked and the duo frowned._

_"No."_

_"Ugh, well can we see them now? Steve mate, you know you have to preen your wings weekly to keep them decent! Its been nearly a year!" Howard nearly shouted in exasperation while Bucky facepalmed and Steve blushed sheepishly._

_"Well, I only have a wingspan of a few feet and that's when they're fully extended, they're mousy brown tufty wings on my back. Not very pretty and far too small for flight. Really, really simple to hide when fully extended." Steve reminded the duo who nodded in agreement._

_"Well, now I really wanna check your wings out mate!" Bucky cut in and Howard nodded quickly in agreement. Steve sighed but pulled off his shirt revealing his now very muscular chest. Howard let out a low whistle._

_"Have you got stronger since the serum was given?" He asked curiously and Steve nodded._

_"The serum naturally enhances itself so my strength has doubled since it was given," Steve said and Howard acknowledged this new information with scientists interest._

_"That one of your extra additions?" he asked and Steve nodded again. Bucky groaned._

_"Can we see Steve's tiny wings now and laugh at how tiny they are in comparison to the rest of him?" Bucky huffed impatiently and Howard laughed. Steve decided to keep the fact that his wings evolved silent in case they just got slightly stronger and nothing else changed._

_Steve sighed and walked to the empty space in the middle of the room, the other two men crowding around him._

_"Um, guys? Can you move back?" He asked. Howard and Bucky mumbled something about 'him forgetting how big a few feet is' but complied and shuffled a few yards away. Steve sighed and let his wings out, expecting to feel the usual scratching of stubby, rough feathers stop halfway down his spine, but to his delight, there was none of that. Instead, he felt a smooth rush of feathers cascading out from just below and to the insides of his shoulders, just lightly trailing along the ground. From the gasps coming from the other two, they weren't expecting this, he noted with a smirk._

_"Got a mirror?" Steve asked as he turned around, his wings sweeping the ground. Still gaping, Howard slid a full-length mirror over to him. Steve turned to observe his wings, expecting them to be slightly longer but still the same mousy brown colour, rough and crudely shaped. Instead, his wings completely changed in their appearance. They tumbled down his back, sprawling about half a foot onto the floor. They arched to just above his head, muscular and majestic. The tops were a pale baby blue colour, almost turquoise, but darkened gradually down to the tips, by which time the feathers were the darkest blue, almost indigo, like the sky at midnight. Streaks of metallic blue dashed vertically down the outer side of each feather, barely visible exept when they caught the light and seemed to glow every shade of blue and purple known to man and some never seen before. Silver streaks, so pale they were almost a shiny pearl colour, dashed through the sea of every colour of blue._

_"Wow," Steve breathed, amazed by the new wings. He tentatively flapped them and to his great surprise, he was lifted about a yard off the ground. His old wings couldn't even generate enough wind to shift paper, let alone carry a much larger version of him into the sky with ease. The trio was in so much awe of this that they didn't notice the doors open until a class smashed to the floor behind them. Howard and Bucky spun around, drawing weapons, but Steve stretched his wings out so they brushed either side of the lab, easily a twenty-five-foot distance. But that was not the most surprising thing that happened to the wings, oh no, that was the fact that streamline silvery blue metal encased each individual feather, turning the wings into polished metallic versions. The sides of each feather were sharpened to the sharpest edge, like a sword, while the tips were as sharp as arrows and, based on the one that launched itself towards the sound and stuck into the wall quivering slightly, could fly like arrows as well._

_The intruders gasped as they ducked out the way of the arrow before a French voice said,_

_"Well we knew our captain was hiding something, but this is amazing!" Jacques Dernier spoke up in amazement. Steve, still bug-eyed at the metal wings, landed on the floor and swiftly retracted his wings, hiding them away in the skin pouches again._

_"You have got to let us see them again!" Dum Dum Dugan sighed happily at the thought of seeing those amazing wings again. Steve blushed sheepishly and slowly extended his wings again, being careful not to present. That would be awkward._

But he had no way of knowing how the future would react to wings, so he never told anyone. Well, Bucky already knew, and Natasha walked in on him trying to preen the back of his wings. He was struggling, so as soon as she got over her initial shock, she padded over and helped him. That was how they'd fallen in love actually. Through those private preening sessions, where it was just them for three hours a month. The Avengers found out they were dating when they walked in on the pair kissing, Steve had just put his shirt back on.

The preening sessions varied from time to time, mostly whenever they were both off of a mission, but the moulting hadn't happened yet. The moulting was horrible. Even with the tiny stubby wings once every ten years, all the feathers were replaced by new ones. He had only had two moulting sessions with his new wings, but it was now for a month once every year. Plus it wasn't comfy ad made him extra sensitive to everything. Mostly he hid away for the month, but now he had the Avengers that would be harder...

**In Dr Banners lab**

"Jesus! What happened to these guys?" Tony exclaimed when the bodies were placed in the middle of the lab floor. Bruce shrugged so Tony turned to Steve and Natasha Bucky's gone to see his girlfriend (who's being kept a secret to protect her) so the other two brought the bodies up. \The pair exchanged glances before Steve spoke up.

"They were given a version of my serum. Tony, can you contact their relations and give them the sad news about the deaths?" Steve suggested and Tony slowly nodded before dashing off, still in all of his armour. Bruce sighed before turning to the duo.

"Now, what happened to their backs. That wasn't the serum that did that to their backs," he asked and Steve sighed.

"Promise to not tell anyone?" he said and Bruce frowned, nodding. Steve took a deep breath in and took his shirt off.

"How is this-" Bruce started to ask when the wings shot out Steve's back, arching high in the air, his hair turning blue at the tips as well as his eyes going a dark indigo colour, the pupils becoming like cat's pupils. Bruce froze, mouth open in amazement as Steve's wings brushed the walls.

"Wow," he breathed, reaching forwards to touch the longest primary feathers but stopped inches away, glancing over to a nervous Rogers, "can I touch them?" he asked tentatively.

Steve paused for what seemed like an eternity before nodding shyly, reaching a wing towards Bruce, who stroked it gently, taking the surprisingly heavy feather in both hands.

"You're the third living person that knows," Steve murmured quietly. Bruce frowned, spotting several feathers were out of place.

"Uh, Steve? I think these feathers need to be sorted?" he pointed out the ruffled ones and Steve sighed, glancing towards Natasha who nodded with a smile.

The pair quickly flopped down by a couch, Steve in the floor with Natasha perched on the edge of the sofa, partly obscured by the vast mass of feathers that poofed out around her. Bucky leaned over to Bruce, who was still watching the wings in awe.

"Let's head to de-briefing. Wing preening takes them hours, especially after a fight." he murmured quietly and Bruce sighed before following him out the room. Those questions would have to wait for later.

**At the debriefing**

"Banner, Barnes. Nice of you to finally join us," Fury said coldly as the pair arrived late, "where are Romanoff and Rogers?"

"Medical wing, director, both took a few too many hits to the back. Stevie's got the worse of the two. They won't be joining us," Bucky said sharply before Bruce could think of a suitable lie. Director Fury grudgingly accepted the lie, before giving the team a boring debrief of the mission. It took several hours, meaning it was nearly midnight by the time everyone was dismissed.

"Hey J? Get the Capsicle and Red to meet us in the common room? I think it's time for a cuddle pile," Tony sighed as he stretched his sore arms (it was the mission, _**NOT**   _him getting old!) but frowned as Jarvis replied:

"Sorry, sir but protocol, _'a month a year'_ has been activated. It is likely Mr Rogers will not be leaving his floor and all cameras have been disabled. You are forbidden to enter without permission. Those with permission are Dr Banner, Miss Romanoff and Mr Barnes. The rest must not approach him unless they want to die, and I quote this, a horrible and painful death. Miss Romanoff will be joining you shortly." The AI said in her calming Irish voice. Bucky groaned. That protocol meant that Steve had started his month of moulding. Now the wings couldn't be hidden. Great.

Tony frowned, "Oi Barnes? What's that mean?" 

Bucky sighed but was saved from answering when Natasha slipped into the room buried under a pile of blankets. She threw them into the middle of the rug before flopping down. The team shrugged, Steve was always honest, why would he not tell them if something was wrong. So, giving up on any questions, they all snuggled into each other, limbs became entwined as everyone fell asleep. Everyone exept Natasha. Once making sure everyone was soundly asleep, she slipped out of the group puppy pile and rode the elevator silently to Steve's floor.

 


	2. A rug of feathers

**On Steve's floor**

"Hey, Stevie? You still up?" She called into the darkness. A lump that looked suspiciously like a cocoon shook, before uncurling into two shaggy wings. The man in the cocoon whined softly before flipping neatly the right way up. Natasha sighed.

"Hey, Tash. Give a man a hand with his moulting wings?" he asked as he flopped gracefully onto the long sofa. Natasha sighed before sitting behind him. She spent the next hour sorting out the moulting secondaries while Steve sorted the primaries. It was a system they used whenever the wings needed sorted, see nearly every mission after a hit to the back.

Natasha yawned, staying awake for nearly twelve hours took its toll. Steve noticed, of course, and held out the wing closest to her, inviting her to sit next to him. She gratefully obliged, snuggling closely into his side. She felt one of his huge aqua wings encase her pulling her closer to him. She smiled as the darkness encased her. The cocoon was wrapped with them both inside, it as one of the only things that made Natasha feel safe, so it was no surprise she was soon asleep.

**The next morning**

All the Avengers were gathered on the kitchen/dining room floor, minus Steve and Natasha.

"Hey Fri? What time's Capsicle coming back from his run?" Tony called out to his AI after not seeing Steve making breakfast for the team as normal.

"The captain never left for his run. He is still on his floor." The AI monotoned back and all the Avengers apart from Bucky either choked on what they were eating or spluttered out what they were drinking (mostly coffee). Alarms went off in their brain. Steve never skipped his runs or working out in the gym. Tony smirked, "Is our dear Natalia on the Captain's floor?" he asked thinking the pair were just sleeping together. But to his horror Friday replied,

"No, Miss Romanoff left the captain's floor at 1.00am this morning. Nothing happened and the pair were just talking after the mission."

Tony frowned in worry, as did the others (minus Bruce and Bucky) as this wasn't normal behaviour for Steve. But before they could question Bucky, Natasha strolled out the elevator. No-one exept Bucky noticed the short downy blue feather in her hair. He leaned over and plucked it out before offering it to her. Natasha rolled her eyes, but took the feather and strung it to the silver bracelet she always wore on her wrist. The feather turned to the metal as soon as it came into contact with the bracelet. Sam noticed and frowned.

"Umm, Nat? I swear that feather just changed from a blue normal-ish feather to a metal, smaller version? How?" he asked and Natasha smirked slyly.

"Magic," she said, causing Tony to spit his drink out again.

"Magic?" Clint asked, doubtfully.

"Magic," Natasha confirmed boredly as she took a mug of coffee off the side.

"Who did that spell? Loki and Strange haven't been here for nearly half a year now! And I know it wasn't Wanda!" Rhodey exclaimed.

"The other magic user." monotoned Natasha, sipping her coffee and scrolling through her phone.

"What?!? Who?" Tony demanded

"Is it like how Dr Strange uses the sling ring?" Wanda asked curiously, wanting to meet this person.

"Why can't we see the magic lingering in the air?" Clint asked.

"No, he says it's like a river. The magic flows. You can change how it flows and what it does by moving the river, but at the end of the day the magic never stays, it always flows away, back to the original course. Like a river, you can shape it how you want and take the water out of it but it takes a lot of focus," Natasha said as she downed the last of her coffee, "anything planned for today?"

"Uhh... No?" Tony said, but it sounded more like a question than an answer. Natasha sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Pepper, is there anything planned today?" she asked her fellow sane person.

Pepper sighed, Natasha clearly wasn't talking about who the magic user was. "We all have a press conference with Jimmy Kimmel today in half an hour, Steve's gonna need to be out of his room by then," she said and Natasha sighed.

"Yeah... about that... Steve's not likely to be leaving his floor of seeing anyone for the next month. The reason's personal," Natasha said and everyone screeched.

"What!?!" They cried out loudly.

"You've gotta be joking Nat! He's off missions for a month!" Tony yelled and Natasha sighed.

"Off missions, out of interviews, not training, not seeing anyone," She added and Pepper sighed. 

"I'm gonna need a reason why Nat. Sorry but I do. Right, you are gonna tell me why now and everyone else is gonna get ready for the interview," Pepper ordered and everyone exept Pepper, Natasha, Buc and Bruce ran off to get ready.

Natasha groaned but agreed.

"Friday? Tell Steve Pepper, Buck, Bruce and I are coming up," she ordered then turned to Pepper, "word of this gets out and I will kill you," she threatened, her face showing the threat was serious. Pepper's eyes widened and she quickly nodded.

**Pepper's POV**

' What was so important that Natasha felt the need to threaten my life over it. I mean, I get that she could be a bit protective of her boyfriend, but death was a bit excessive. Wait, could Steve be the one with magic? That would explain earlier, but not why he couldn't leave his floor. And the protocol yesterday, what was it? A month a year? What could that mean? Nevermind, I guess I'll find out.'              My mind was racing as I followed Natasha out of the elevator on Steve's floor.

I frowned. Steve's floor was covered in shadows. It was unnatural shadows like they were put there by magic. Natasha turned to me.

"Remember your promise," She said and I nodded quickly. Natasha was terrifying. I went to take another step forward but my foot brushed against a large pile. Confused, I bent down to pick it up. It was feathers, like the one Natasha had earlier, but nearly two feet long! I saw Bruce's face drop open.

"He moults?!?" Bruce asked in amazement. I frowned, moults  _what?_

 

Natasha nodded, sighing again, before turning to Bucky, " Can you turn the lights on? Full beam please," she asked and Bucky nodded before disappearing into the shadows. A few moments passed in silence before the room lit up, with a blast of bright light. A whine came from the other side of the room and I gasped. A hand, made out of baby blue, dust? Was that the right word for it? I thought back to Natasha's explanation earlier. This was a channel for the rivers of magic that flowed through everything. Someone was creating it, controlling it. Something powerful, it took Loki years to learn something even a tiny, tiny tiny bit as complex as that, and even then it drained him so he could only hold it for a few seconds. Who was controlling it? I turned to Natasha in question.

 She rolled her eyes and batted the hand away. It retreated, collapsing into dust, before out of the ashes came a dove. The Dust reformed itself, forming into a dove, which opened its eyes and flew to Natasha's shoulder, cooing lovingly. Natasha rolled her eyes again.

"Come out here, we need to explain to Pep why you're no leaving your floor for the month," She called to a seemingly empty corner. It was just a weird feather cocoon. She would need to talk to him later, but for now, where was he?

**Steve's POV**

Great. Pepper was here. Great.

Bet she'll want to see me? Yeah, Natasha's just told me to go over to her. 

Sighing, I unfurled my wings, my safe cocoon opening showing the bright lights. They were too bright, I almost hissed, but luckily I controlled myself. That would be harder to explain. Stupid moulting month... all my senses were dialled up to 100. 

**Pepper's POV**

I was becoming impatient. Where was Steve?

Just then I saw the weird feather thing move.  I stared closer watching as it unfolded, to reveal Steve.

"Steve? Why are you sitting inside fake wings?" I asked, seriously confused at this point. Steve looked over to me, then gave me a shy smile as he stood up. I gasped, the wings moved with him!

"Steve?" I asked, "do you have... have... have wings?" I asked and Steve bowed his head. He shifted his back and the wings expanded, easily brushing the walls and ceiling. "Wow!" I murmured, spellbound by the wings.

"Sorry if you think I'm a freak, Miss Potts," he murmured and I gasped. He thought he was a freak! From the looks on Natasha and Bucky's faces, they'd tried to tell him the opposite many times but he never listened.

"Steve Rogers! You are not a freak!" I said and he looked up frowning.

"I'm not?" he asked and I sighed.

"No, you are not! But how have I never seen your wings before?"" I asked.

"I mould my wings once a year. It lasts a month." Ah, that would explain the protocol then...

I sighed, "Steve, are you alright showing the rest of the Avengers your wings? Please!" 

"Umm, fine, are you sure they don't think I'm a freak?" he sounded so weak! God.

"Yes, I'm sure! Please? Your wings look amazing! And was that your magic earlier?" I asked and Steve nodded sheepishly. The rest of the team would love it. This'll be amazing!

**No-ones POV**

"Pepper! The conference started ten minutes ago! We're late!" Natasha called ant Pepper started to panic.

"I can create a portal for you if you want?" Steve suggested as he pulled a t-shirt, with two slits in the back that his wings were shoved through.

"You're joining us?! You're actually coming to the press conference?" Pepper asked, shocked and Steve shrugged.

"Why not? You've made me realise no-one will think of me as a freak, so why not show as many people as possible? Nat? My wings look alright" he asked turning around and ruffling his wings.

"Yup! Wings looking great, you wanna fold them back so people don't notice them first? Give them a surprise?" Natasha suggested and Steve smirked, folding his wings back. It was amazing how he was able to hide wings that could easily fill a room behind his back. Then again, Steve was hardly tiny!


	3. Wing Reveal

"Right, well, I'll load a portal now?" Steve said as he flicked his wrist around in a circle, drawing a border for the circle with a flat palm, using both hands to expand the circle, making it large enough for people to walk through comfortably.


End file.
